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The time has come...
for the Dawn of Perim™ to give way to the Zenith of the Hive™…
The struggle for the Cothica continues as the OverWorlders and UnderWorlders remain locked in endless combat. This constant fighting has led them to overlook the other Tribes of Perim, although not on purpose. The Mipedians have been quietly observing the events unfolding and have been meticulously preparing to disrupt the order of things in an attempt to be recognized as a leading Tribe. Unbeknownst to the other 3 Tribes, the Danians are preparing for their ultimate stand guided by Illexia the Danian Queen, using the overwhelming power of the Hive and its brutal parasitic Infection.
Zenith of the Hive introduces a number of new abilities and keywords that will change the way you play forever. In particular, the Danians have mastered the ability to Infect other Creatures with Hive Parasites. These Parasite-Infected Creatures count as Mandiblors you control. This allows you to Infect your opponent’s Creatures to increase your Mandiblor count helping boost Mandiblor counting Hive abilities like Wamma’s. The key to most Danian armies is the number of Mandiblors you control; the more you control the stronger they become.
Infect
Some Creatures in this set can Infect other Creatures. When a Creature becomes Infected, put a Parasite Token Card under it. An Infected Creature can not be Infected again. When counting Mandiblors, Creatures you’ve Infected count towards your total (whether these are your Creatures or your Opponents.)
Dubin – Dubin is a Controller in the Danian Tribe and has mastered the art of Infection. By spending a Mugic™ counter, Dubin can Infect any Creature. Having been tasked by Illexia to spread the Infection throughout Perim, Dubin has learned to draw on the power of the Infection by gaining 5 Energy whenever an opponent controls an Infected Creature.
Dubin is a great addition to any Infection-based Army because his ability allows you to instantly Infect Creatures in play. With his low Energy and Disciplines, Dubin is not well suited for combat and is better placed in one of the back rows of your Army.
Mahrrant – Mahrrant is a Mandiblor Muge who has learned to convert defeated Infected Creatures into Mugic counters. Mahrrant is also a Hive stabilizer as he can spend a Mugic counter to Activate Hive when needed. Illexia values Mahrrant’s abilities and as such he is usually summoned to Activate Hive during combat because he can regain his Mugic counters by having his comrades defeat Infected Creatures.
If you are looking for new and exciting Creature abilities, look no further than Mahrrant. In a Danian Army focused on Infection and the Hive, Mahrrant can single-handedly Activate Hive for you the entire game. He begins the game with one Mugic counter which can be used to Activate Hive on the first turn. Be sure to Infect Creatures that you are sure will be defeated each turn and Mahrrant will always have a Mugic counter to Activate Hive on each turn. To be sure that at least one Creature is defeated in the first combat of any game, Infect both of the engaged Creatures, including yours. This way no matter what happens, an Infected Creature will be placed into a discard pile and Mahrrant will gain a Mugic counter.
Illexia – Illexia is the Danian Queen and ruler of Mount Pillar. She is rarely seen by those outside of Mount Pillar because she is so heavily guarded by her fellow Tribe members. There have been numerous attempts on her life, and though none have been successful, the threat remains.
Illexia is rarely seen in combat because all of her guards gain “Defender” when they are guarding her and they always step in and fight to save her life. Illexia provides a massive Mandiblor count while Hive is active because each Mugic counter on her counts as a Mandiblor you control. As the source of the Hive, she can convert defeated Mandiblors and Infected Creatures into Mugic counters. These counters are best used to boost your Mandiblor count while Hive is active but they can be used in a pinch to Activate Hive when necessary. She is loyal only to the Danians and therefore cannot enter mixed armies.
Defender
When a Creature you control is attacked while adjacent to another Creature you control that has the Defender ability, you may swap the two Creatures’ positions and have the Creature with Defender fight in the original Creature’s place.
Aggroar – Aggroar lives in the Glacier Plains protecting the Frozen Fire. The Frozen Fire is a special Mugical area within the Glacier Plains and Maxxor™ has entrusted Aggroar with protecting it. He is a brilliant Strategist who is well trained in the “Defender” ability to the extent that he occasionally teaches others to use this versatile ability.
Aggroar is skilled with the Earth Element and grants Strategists you control (including himself!) the “Defender” ability. Defender allows Creatures to take the place of an attacked Creature and fight in place of the originally attacked Creature. Defender is one of the best abilities to use to protect your back row support Creatures if they are attacked.
Elementproof X
When your Creature becomes engaged, and if your Creature has Elementproof X and your opponent’s Creature has the matching Elemental Type, your Creature gains X Energy until end of turn. For example, if your Creature has Fireproof 10 and engages an opponent’s Creature with Elemental Type Fire, your Creature gains 10 Energy that lasts until the end of turn.
Mount Pillar Reservoir – Located below Mount Pillar, the Reservoir is the life-giving well for the Danians. The Reservoir is protected by the Elementalist Tassanil and he sees to it that no one disturbs this precious Water supply. Water is everywhere in the Reservoir and Danians gain “Water 5” while they are here. When Creatures battle in the Reservoir they gain “Fireproof 10” because of the high concentration of Water which helps protect Creatures from Fire.
Mount Pillar Reservoir is a great addition to Water-based Danian Armies because all of their Water Attacks will do an additional 5 points of damage. This card can also be effective in Armies which battle Creatures with Fire frequently because engaged Creatures gain an additional 10 Energy if their opponent has the Fire Element from the “Fireproof 10” ability.
Invisibility: Disarm
Disarm is a combat ability that shuts down an opponent’s Battlegear during combat. If Invisibility is not negated, Disarm prevents an opposing Battlegear from doing anything, including abilities that happen “At the beginning of combat.” The Battlegear is still revealed at the beginning of combat and stays on the equipped Creature.
Kolmo – Kolmo is a Mipedian Elite who has mastered the art of “Invisibility: Disarm” and a host of other stealthy abilities. Kolmo has made it his life’s work to spy on the Danians since the Infection began. Prince Mudeenu recently sent Kolmo on a secret mission to assassinate all of the Danian Nobles, most importantly Illexia, the Danian Queen in an attempt to halt the spread of the Infection.
Kolmo is a devastating force on the Battleboard. With his “Range” and “Swift 1” abilities, he can attack an opponent’s second row Creatures if he is placed in your front row. Equipping him with a Windstrider will allow him to attack any Creature in your opponent’s Army on your first turn. If Kolmo is engaged with a Danian Noble, he gains “Invisibility: Strike 20” which is almost always more than enough to win the combat. Unless Kolmo’s Invisibility is negated, he will “Disarm” his opponent’s Battlegear, rendering it useless for that combat. Kolmo is skilled with the Air Element and is best played with an Attack Deck containing many Air Attack Cards.
Scanned Energy
Scanned Energy refers to a Creature’s printed Energy as it appears at the bottom right corner on the card.
Strike of the Meek – Strike of the Meek is a high Build Cost card with a Build Point of 5, but it can pack a punch if played by the right Creature. Strike of the Meek will only deal maximum damage if played by a Creature who has a Scanned Energy of 30 or less, which are usually your back row support Creatures. This is a great addition to your Attack Deck in case your support Creatures enter combat. If you draw this early in the game, hold onto it in your hand until you can play it for maximum damage of 55, which will usually end the combat with your Creature being victorious.
0-Cost Mugic
A Mugic Card with a zero [0MC] as the Mugic cost still belongs to its Tribe. Even though you don’t have to spend any Mugic counters to play the Mugic, you must choose a Creature from the appropriate Tribe to play the Mugic Card. If you do not control any appropriate Creatures, you may not play the Mugic Card.
Hive Unsung – Hive Unsung is a zero cost Danian Mugic Card which allows you to Deactivate Hive. Since this card has a zero Mugic cost, you can play it by selecting a Danian Creature you control without having to pay any Mugic counters to play it. Hive Unsung is a special Mugic Card because it has an option that allows you to pay one Mugic counter when playing it instead of not paying for it; if you do, it will return to your hand after it resolves instead of being put into the discard pile. This will allow you to use it multiple times during a game! This card is best used to turn Hive on multiple times during a turn so that you can trigger “When Hive is activated…” abilities, such as Ramarhvir’s, more than once per turn.
X-Cost Mugic
Mugic Cards with an X [XMC] as the Mugic cost allow you to pay any amount of Mugic counters as the cost.
Elemental Denial – Elemental Denial is a dangerous UnderWorld Mugic Card used to disrupt a Creature’s Elements and its ability to deal damage with its attacks. Elemental Denial allows you pay any number of Mugic counters to remove the same number of Elemental Types from a Creature. Have you ever faced a Heptadd that played an Allmageddon for 50 damage? If you play Elemental Denial and spend 4 Mugic counters while playing it and target a Heptadd, you can reduce the damage Heptadd can deal with an Allmageddon by 40 so that the attack will only deal 10 damage! This play is best made in response to a Heptadd playing an Allmageddon so that you do not waste the Mugic Card or counters until it is necessary.
TIP: Equip Chaor™ with a Mugician’s Lyre to have an UnderWorlder with 4 Mugic counters.
TV Show Cards
Zenith of the Hive introduces a few marquee cards from the Chaotic® cartoon on 4Kids.tv.
Sword of Khy’at – The legendary sword of Tangath Toborn, the Sword of Khy’at premieres on a devastating level. Creatures equipped with the sword gain 5 Energy and 15 Speed. Warriors equipped with the sword (like Tangath Toborn) gain a special ability. Whenever a Warrior deals 20 or more attack damage, you may deal an additional 5 damage to any Creature, including the opposing Creature in combat. Use the Attack Card Granite Balls to easily deal 20 damage with Tangath Toborn. Since most combats last at least 3-4 attacks, if your engaged Creature is a Warrior equipped with the Sword of Khy’at and can deal 20 damage on each of its attacks, you can deal an additional 15-20 damage to any Creature on the board. That’s like having a free Canon of Casualty every combat!
Granite Balls – Although not featured in the TV show, Granite Balls is a powerful Earth attack, especially when played by a Warrior. It has 5 Base Damage, 5 Earth Damage, and will deal an additional 10 damage if the Creature playing the attack is a Warrior. There is a slight drawback to the card which allows the opposing engaged Creature to spend one Mugic counter to prevent the 10 extra damage. This drawback can sometimes be a blessing in disguise. If an opponent chooses to prevent the 10 damage, they must spend a valuable Mugic counter, hindering their ability to play Mugic and abilities. Granite Balls is a great Attack Card to play with Tangath Toborn.
Stingblade Prototype – The Stingblade Prototype first appears in the Chaotic TV Series while Sarah is exploring Mount Pillar. The Stingblade Prototype is a powerful Battlegear that is most effectively used by the Danians in combination with the Hive. When the Stingblade Prototype is in play face up, whenever Hive is activated, the next Attack Card that is played will only deal 10 damage instead of the normal amount of damage it would have dealt. This Battlegear can be used effectively to increase the amount of damage dealt from one of your attacks, or to decrease the amount of damage from one of your opponent’s attacks.
Sha-Kree Flats – The Sha-Kree Flats are a dry and desolate desert. Mipedians have Initiative here when engaging in combat. Elementalists gain a significant elemental boost when engaging in combat at the Sha-Kree Flats. At the beginning of combat, engaged Elementalists may gain one Elemental Type until end of turn. Try using the Mipedian Elementalist Uro at the Sha-Kree Flats. He will win Initiative, has Invisibility: Strike 5 and he can gain an Elemental Type of your choice. Try building different Elemental Attack Decks and choose the appropriate Element for your Attack Deck and find which Element you like to have Uro gain. I usually tend to build an Air Attack Deck and have Uro gain Air when he engages in combat at the Sha-Kree Flats.
New Features for Zenith of the Hive
Zenith of the Hive introduces a few new features not found in previous Chaotic Sets.
Parasite Token Cards – Zenith of the Hive™ includes two collectable Parasite Token Cards. These cards can be used to track the Hive’s Infection during gameplay. Whenever a Creature becomes Infected, place an Infected Token Card under it to mark that it has been Infected. These cards come in two different colors so that two players can both play Infection based Armies and have different colored Parasite Token Cards to help track which Creatures have been Infected by each player. One in every three Zenith of the Hive booster packs may contain a Parasite Token Card.
New Set Symbol – Each Chaotic booster set will have its own unique Set and Rarity symbol, which can be found on every Chaotic Card in the upper right hand corner. The Zenith of the Hive symbol looks like the Dawn of Perim symbol however it has two dots instead of one. Rarity colors have not changed; however Super Rare cards now say “Super” below the symbol similar to how Ultra Rare cards have the word “Ultra” below the symbol. For reference the Rarity color breakdown is:
- Black: Common
- Green: Uncommon
- Yellow: Rare
- Silver with Super: Super Rare
- Silver with Ultra: Ultra Rare
Full Foil Rares – Zenith of the Hive takes Chaotic Cards to the next level! All Rare cards are now printed on Silver Foil instead of just having a copper foil name. This means that every Zenith of the Hive booster pack will contain 2 FULL FOIL cards!
Giving way…
The Danians are in full force and ready to wreak havoc on the world of Perim. There are many exciting cards that can be found with this Set and I encourage you to explore the vast array of new abilities. New combos and Armies are waiting to be discovered. Will you be the first one to unleash them?
Brian Fahmie
Chaotic|Dragonix
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